Ink Out Loud: I know a little ?

I know in order to make a perfect grilled cheese sandwich, like the kind you get at a restaurant, you should put mayonnaise on the bread instead of butter or margarine.

The sandwich turns out golden brown. It doesn't burn. I don't know why, but it is true.

I know an adult human brain weighs about three pounds.

I know the year before I was born Randy Gardner set the world record for time without sleep -- 264 hours.

I know frogs have eardrums and scorpions can have as many as 12 eyes.

I know that nearly 95 percent of U.S. citizens regularly eat pizza.

One out of 10 babies in Europe are conceived on IKEA beds; there are square watermelons in Japan; a mole can dig a 300-foot-long tunnel in one night, Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark, slugs can have four noses and more people are killed by teddy bears than grizzly bears.

Those are fun facts.

I also know fewer teens are drinking and driving than in past years. That is great news.

A not-so-fun fact is, sending or receiving text messages, talking and messing around with gadgets while driving has gone through the roof, especially with teens.

The fact is many teens suffer serious injury or die as a result.

According to the official U.S. Government website for Distracted Driving, "In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010. An additional, 387,000 people were injured in vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 416,000 injured in 2010.

In June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the United States, which is a number that increased nearly 50 percent from June 2009.

Did you know that approximately 11 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash.

Additionally, 40 percent of all American teens say they have been in a car where the driver used a cellphone in a way that put people in danger.

Telephone headsets really are not that safe either.

According to Carnegie Mellon, driving while using a cellphone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by approximately 37 percent.

Drivers have to be present physically and mentally.

Headsets or hands-free devices are safer than handheld devices.

Drivers who use handheld devices are four times more likely to get into serious injury or fatal crashes.

Talking is still better than sending or receiving text messages, which creates a crash risk 23 times higher than driving while not distracted.

Sending or receiving text messages takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds.

To put that in perspective, the source of the statistic states it is the equivalent of -- at 55 mph -- driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

If you are in your car and you absolutely need to talk or send a message, pull over.

After all, everyone should have the opportunity to make at least one great restaurant-style grilled cheese sandwich and eat it while learning things like ... Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots.

Mandy Feder is the Managing Editor for Lake County Publishing. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 ext. 32. Follow her on Twitter @mandyfeder1.